Anwar al-Awlaki, al Qaeda terrorist with ties to several other terrorist suspects, has been killed by a joint CIA-military operation in Yemen.  He had been tracked for years before finally being hit by a rocket fired from a U.S. drone aircraft.

Awlaki is the first U.S citizen to be targeted and killed as a terrorist.  He was in a car in which Samir Khan, another American member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and two other passengers also were killed.  Since the extermination of Osama bin Laden on May 1, the U.S. has killed seven other senior al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.  Awlaki is number 8.

Perhaps the main factor that made Awlaki even more dangerous than bin Laden was that Awlaki understood the intricacies of the internet and used it to broadcast his messages overseas.  He had numerous You Tube videos, and CDs with his speeches were sold around the world in Islamic bookstores.  He even had his own Facebook page.

I wonder how surprised Anwar al-Awlaki and Osama bin Laden were to discover that they did not have 72 virgins waiting for them.  I bet they were even more astonished to find that they did not end up in heaven.

These are special days to pray for forgiveness, to repent of our sins and transgressions, and to praise God for being merciful and good to us.

I don’t need to comment on the content of the email; it speaks for itself.  What I will say is that there was a widespread frenzy on the web of people who felt quite certain that Elenin was a super-massive object that was going to create great cataclysms on the earth as it passed by.  That is because they wanted to believe that, so they deluded themselves into believing it.

In reality, Elenin is an insignificant comet, just as NASA said it was all along.  It will come and go, virtually unnoticed.

My greatest disappointment is in the large number of Christians who got caught up in the commotion of thinking that the Sixth Seal was about to be opened, and/or that Jesus was going to appear suddenly, and/or that the Battle of Armageddon was imminent, etc.  My three-part Chronology of Revelation commentary explains how several things have to happen before any of those events will take place.  It is amazing to me how so many Christians have not made the effort to put important eschatological puzzle pieces together.

For one thing, we have not seen massive, unrestrained, worldwide (including in the USA) slaughter of believers, which will take place after the opening of the Fifth Seal (Revelation 6:9).  The souls of these slain saints will cry out to the Lord to avenge their shed blood (6:10), which will be the “last straw” for God that will bring on His “day of vengeance,” following the opening of the ominous Sixth Seal and then the dreaded Seventh Seal.

All of this recent “hype” reminds me of Harold Camping’s longstanding cataclysmic forecast for May 21, which never took place.  His thinking was based more on unsound doctrine and emotion than it was on correct eschatology and logic.  It was a negative reflection on clear-headed, rational-thinking Christians.  As far as I know, he still maintains that the “end of the world” will take place on Oct. 21.  I, for one, am not going to be holding my breath as that date approaches.

This year, Rosh HaShanah begins at sunset on Sep. 28 and continues through Sep. 30.  It is celebrated for 2 whole days.  Of course, you could print out the list and wait until Jan. 1 to begin reading, if you want to.

Notice a young Ronald Reagan near the end of the video.

I have received numerous emails lately from people who are convinced that Elenin, which I wrote about in my July 14 entry, is a super massive object that is going to wreak a great deal of havoc on the earth and in the sky above us as it passes by, less than a week from now.  Many are thinking that Elenin will cause the great earthquake and the cosmic disturbances of the Sixth Seal, such as the darkening of the sun and the reddening of the moon (Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:12,13).

I am not convinced that Elenin is a dense object that is going to have a significant gravitational pull on our planet.  Furthermore, I do not see how the opening of the Sixth Seal could be imminent.  For one thing, I have not seen the persecution and executions of believers, following the opening of the Fifth Seal (Revelation 6:9,10), to the widespread extent that it would trigger the onset of God’s “day of vengeance” yet.

Interestingly, NASA has announced that a six-ton defunct satellite (UARS or Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, launched Sep. 12, 1991) is plunging to Earth.  The satellite will break apart upon re-entry, and most of the pieces will disintegrate in the atmosphere.  However, several pieces are expected to fall all the way to the earth, and NASA has not yet been able to determine exactly where.

This is expected to happen sometime late Friday night ET, Sep. 23.  Some have suggested that these heated objects, streaking through the sky, could be perceived as the “falling stars” of the Sixth Seal.  I highly doubt it.  Maybe, at some time in the future, something will cause the power to all the satellites in Earth’s orbit will be cut off, and they all will fall at once, looking like countless falling stars when they do. 

The bottom line is that I am not worried too much about Elenin (which, most likely, is no more than a little comet), nor of the falling satellite.  NASA has answered some questions about Elenin here: Comet Elenin: Biggest Questions (and Answers) From NASA.  Could NASA be hiding something?  Personally, I doubt it.

If there is a large earthquake anywhere on the earth within the next week, I will not be surprised, since they happen sometimes.  I follow earthquakes at Latest Earthquakes in the World — Past 7 days.

However, I see virtually no chance that such an earthquake would be associated with the sun turning dark, the moon turning red, and stars appearing to fall from the sky.  Prophetically, I do not see these things as being imminent.  I do believe that the Pre-Wrath Rapture will occur on one of two days of Rosh HaShanah = the Feast of Trumpets (beginning at sunset on Wed., Sep. 28), but I do not see it happening this year.

This is in reference to Assad’s forces being in violation of human rights by attacking Syrian civilians who oppose Assad.  If any type of sanctions against Syria are approved by the U.N. Security Council, however, they almost certainly will be vetoed by Russia and China.

Today is the tenth anniversary of the horrific and ghastly attacks by radical Islam on the USA.  Let us keep in our minds and hearts the great sacrifice that thousands of people made with their lives on that day.

Anyone who thinks that the core precepts of Islam are “peaceful” should think twice about this.  Yes, there are “peaceful” Muslims in America who have no intention of doing harm to others.  But many of them have not even read all of their Qur’an, just as many Christians have not read all of their Bible.

There most likely will be future terrorist attacks, though, and I expect them to be widespread and overwhelming.  When that happens, law-abiding Muslims in the USA who are threatened by radical Muslims to join them, or else be beheaded, may think twice about whether their allegiance is to the USA or to Allah.

A widespread power outage, the 2011 Southwest blackout, hit parts of southern California, western Arizona and northern Mexico from yesterday afternoon and through this morning, lasting for about 15 hours.  The power to most areas was on by dawn today.  Almost 6 million people were affected, including all of San Diego with a population of over 1.3 million.

I was not there at the time, although I have friends who were in the dark the entire time—no fun.  An electrical utility worker near Yuma, Arizona, accidentally removed a piece of monitoring equipment at a power substation, and this caused a chain reaction that led to the widespread blackout.

This should remind us how fragile man-made systems, like electrical grids, are.  Such a blackout, or even multiple blackouts, could happen virtually anywhere.  Undoubtedly, the initial thought of many who experienced the blackout was that it was a terrorist attack, since the tenth anniversary of 9/11/01 is near.

Speaking of which...security has been stepped up significantly in New York City and in Washington DC, due to a credible but unconfirmed terror threat.  Law enforcement officials have been pursuing three people who may be in the U.S., based on the detailed information received by the U.S. intelligence community recently.

Incidentally, most people are unaware of the Arabic term “hudna.”  It refers to a temporary period of “truce” or “quiet” that Arabs (in particular, Muslims) have with their non-Muslim enemies.  In their view, this period should last no more than ten years—such as, for instance, from 9/11/01 to 9/11/11.  Hmmm....

Sep. 6, 2011

While visiting parts of northern New Mexico, I went for a drive in the Rocky Mountains this afternoon.  Some of the trees already are starting to change color.  Initially, the skies were clear; then they got cloudy.

     
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I got a good shot of Hermit’s Peak (elevation = 10,263 feet) in the shade.  At first, I was disappointed that it wasn’t in the sun.  But later, when I looked at the photo, I was glad.

This particular mountain, when turned 90°, very much resembles a man’s face, especially when viewed from the location where I was standing.  Where I was located, the features of the face—forehead, eye, nose, lips, and chin—were very distinct.

I think that if it had been in the sun, the facial features would not have been as clear.  Also, from most other locations, the features are not nearly as distinct as they are from that particular point of view.

Click on the photo to the right to see a larger version of Hermit’s Peak.  Then, if you click on the larger photo, you will see it turned 90° so that you can see the man’s face.  If you click on the face, you will see a larger version so that you can see more detail.  It’s pretty amazing, I think.

Hermit’s Peak has been lying there looking into the heavens for eons of time.  Maybe he is looking for the appearance of Yeshua in the clouds.  I know I am.

Sep. 1, 2011

I saw a bright object in the southeastern (mostly eastern) sky late tonight.  After doing some research online, my best guess is that it was Jupiter.

 
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I took the first photo using a 5X zoom.  The second photo was with the highest resolution of my camera, 14.2 magapixels, along with the 5X zoom.

The details of whatever the object is cannot be seen.  There probably is a setting on my camera that would adjust the lighting and provide greater detail, but I did not take the time to figure it out.  I wish I had a telescope to view the thing.

Irene was the fourth deadliest and fifth costliest hurricane in U.S. history.  It’s amazing how people on the east coast experienced a hurricane just a few days after feeling a 5.8 earthquake, the epicenter of which was in Virginia on Aug. 23.

Look at the magnified view of the face of a smart meter, where I have circled the letters “FCC” in red.  This is the Federal Communications Commission, a branch of the federal government.

No one from the electric company has come by my place to install a smart meter.  If someone shows up to do so, I am going to refuse the installation.  I use a whole lot less energy than most people do, and the amount of energy I use does not need to be monitored.  If I choose to monitor it, I am smart enough to do it using the standard meter.  In any case, I certainly do not want the government doing it.

Aug. 28, 2011

There was another huge harvest in my friend’s garden today.  The amount of vegetables that he continues to get out of there boggles my mind.

     
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As usual, the dinner that he made was outstanding.  I offer to help him with food preparation or with cooking, and sometimes he lets me.  Usually, though, he likes doing it on his own, which is fine with me!

Tonight he put salmon, zucchini, crooked-neck squash, and eggplant on the grill, adding cumin and rosemary as spices.  There was rice on the side.  I guarantee you that it was tastier than you can imagine, not to mention extremely healthful.

Aug. 26, 2011

My friend and I drove into San Francisco from the north today.  It was very foggy from south Marin County into the city, including the entire Golden Gate bridge.

         
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Later, back at his place, we did some harvesting in his over-grown garden.  I could not resist making a snack of small, fresh tomatoes with basil.  That is like “manna from heaven,” as far as I’m concerned.

Dinner was a masterpiece that my friend put together (and I washed the dishes).  He cooked barley to perfection in a pressure cooker.  Then he added cooked zucchini, crooked-neck squash, mushrooms, garlic, and spinach, all seasoned to perfection.  Plus he roasted tomatoes and basin in the oven.  I think he ought to be a chef in a restaurant.

   
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What an incredible feast it was!  I had two platefuls.  M-M-M!!!

Aug. 24, 2011

Some friends and I drove to several wineries in Dry Creek Valley this afternoon to do some wine tasting.  My friends bought wine, but I did not.  Some places charged for tasting; some did not.  I tasted only at those that did not charge.  Although I liked tasting different wines, I mostly enjoyed the scenery in the valley.

         
         
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I rarely drink alcohol, including wine.  The last time before today was during Passover in April.  Alcohol is not a temptation for me; I can take it or leave it.

I advocate that people who do not drink do not get started.  For those who do, keep it minimal.  Never mix alcohol with drugs, whether prescription or non-prescription.

Aug. 22, 2011

I’m hanging out with my friend on his birthday today.  I’ve known him for over 30 years; we used to work together at FHP in Orange County, CA, in the early 80s.

Last night, five of us had a great dinner at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, which is a vegetarian place.  I had numerous vegetables cooked to perfection in red curry sauce.  I am not a total vegetarian (since I do consume chicken, fish, nonfat milk, and occasionally cheese), but I probably could be.

         

         
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After going to Costco (where I ate numerous free samples) and Safeway (where I got enough oats and fruit to last for over a week), I relaxed on the deck out back.  Lulu dog joined me there later to catch some rays, too.

Aug. 20, 2011

I am visiting a good friend in Northern California (Marin County).  He has had a bumper crop of vegetables (zucchinis, yellow squash, serrano peppers, tomatoes, yellow and green beans, asian peppers, eggplant, basil, cucumbers, and others) and fruit (plums, apples, lemons) for a couple of months.  It has been an ideal growing season where he is.

Some of the zucchinis are about 18 inches long.  The photos below show only a tiny fraction of what has been harvested since I’ve been here.  We have been eating and eating and eating and are barely making a dent in all of it.  Maybe I finally can gain some weight after having lost 12 pounds (without trying).  His dog (Lulu) likes everything, too, especially apples.

         

         

         

         

         
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He has been harvesting every three days or so and has been giving food away to whoever wants any.  Often, he will put out a full box of veggies in front of his house, by the street, with a sign on it inviting people to take whatever they want.  It always gets emptied.  I told him that when really hard times hit, his neighbors may be showing up at his front door for food.

Aug. 16, 2011

I found two flowers on the same stem while I was walking.  I think they are petunias.  They were on the sidewalk, and I almost stepped on them.  I was surprised to see that they had not wilted.  I picked them up, brought them home, and put them into a little cup with water.

   
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As I was examining the flowers, I noticed how similar they appeared.  Both were pink and white, and both had five sides.  They were like little twins.  However, even identical twins are not completely identical; upon closer examination, some differences always can be found, if only on a microscopic level.

It makes me think how grand and extremely creative God is.  He could have made all members of a species from the same “mold” or at least from a finite number of patterns.  But then we would not have the virtually infinite array of plants, animals, and people that we see in the world around us, which makes life a great deal more fascinating than it otherwise would be.

Many of these rioters have been protesting the fact that other people have things that they do not have.  This is envy and covetoutness; in essence, it is a violation of the 10th Commandment (Exodus 20:17).  Furthermore, the looters are stealing, which is a violation of the 8th Commandment (20:15).

In Great Britain, and in numerous other nations (for instance, Greece), many have become used to getting “free stuff,” and recent austerity measures have threatened the continuance of these “hand-outs.”  Hosts of youths have been raised in an environment where their every want is an “entitlement” that should be able to be obtained at everybody else’s expense.  I suspect that a majority of them also have been raised without a practical knowledge, acceptance, reliance, and respect of/for God.

This simply is escalating lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3,7; 1 John 3:4), and it will come to the streets of American cities.  It is only a matter of time for this to happen, once the corrupt system collapses, idealistic people realize that the promise of “free stuff” is deceptive propaganda, and continuing to receive it it is merely an idealistic illusion.  Click on the “Wizard of Id” cartoon to see what I mean.

He declared that “we always have been and always will be a triple-A country.”  He is living in an idealistic fantasy; he cannot deem our credit rating to be whatever he wants it to be.

However, he certainly has been very instrumental in causing its downgrade with his failed and disastrous QE1 and QE2 stimulus policies, along with his reckless leadership.  That is what happens when liberal progressivism is in charge, which it has been in the USA since January 2007 (when balance of Congress moved to the left).

Obama, who inherited a AAA credit rating from George Bush, admitted that we’ve been “going through a tough time for the past 2½ years.”  Not surprisingly, he has been the president for just over that period of time.  During that time, I still have seen no one who meets the criteria to become the False Prophet of Revelation 13:11-17 more than Barack Hussein Obama.

Frankly, I find it difficult having respect for any American who voted for this man in 2008, especially if they are ignorant enough to vote for him again.  There were countless reasons why he was the worst choice possible, and being black has nothing to do with it.

I feel that if Democrats have any common sense at all, they will motivate another candidate (such as, perhaps, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) to run against Barack Obama and then support that candidate in the Democrat primary for president in 2012.  Of course, I am not a Clinton fan at all; my point is that just about anybody would be a more competent president then BHO.

In a statement S&P said, “The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.”  With economic confidence being so fragile, the U.S. Stock Market, along with markets all over the world, easily could continue sliding downward in the near future.

Interestingly, although Obama has been pushing for weeks for the House and Senate to raise the debt ceiling, back in 2006 he strongly was against doing so.  Furthermore, when the Senate voted to increase the debt ceiling $850 billion in 2007 and $800 billion in 2008, Senator Obama did not even vote.  Does anyone else notice some major inconsistency here?

It was expected that the U.S. Stock Market would react positively to the raising of the debt ceiling today.  However, the opposite was true; the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 266 points, for the eighth-straight day of stock declines.  This has erased all gains for 2011, going negative for the year.

Congresswoman Giffords was critically wounded in Tucson, AZ, on Jan. 8 by suspected gunman Jared Lee Loughner.  For months, she has demonstrated a remarkable degree of recovery from what easily could have been a fatal injury.

Today, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi recognized Giffords on the floor, saying that she is “the personification of courage, of sincerity, of admiration throughout the country.”  I cannot think of the last thing Ms. Pelosi has said with which I agreed, but admittedly I do agree with that statement.  Go Gabby!

Breivik has described himself as a “cultural” (that is, “nominal”) Christian rather than as a “religious” Christian.  In his manifesto, he has indicated that he does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  In fact, a true Christian would feel and express remorse for having violated any of the Ten Commandments in the slightest way.

On the contrary, Breivik has demonstrated nothing but satisfaction and contentment with his despicable, contemptible, and loathsome violation of the Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:13).  This man is no Christian.  Sociopathic maniacs can claim to be anything they want, but their actions and subsequent explanations for their actions show them for what they truly are: fanatical extremists who have no useful place in society or among God’s people.

A very large bomb was detonated this afternoon in central Oslo, Norway.  Several people were killed, and dozens were injured in the huge blast.  The bomber has been identified as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik.

A great deal of damage was done to government buildings, including the office of the Norwegian prime minster and the office of the oil and energy ministry.  A big smoke cloud could be seen rising from the middle of the city after the blast.  The blast has been likened to the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, by Timothy McVeigh.

Over an hour after the bombing, a man began shooting youths who were attending a Labour party conference at Utøya, a few miles from Oslo.  Initial reports indicated that the man was disguised as a police officer, although later it was determined that he was wearing a blue jumper that had a Norwegian police badge or sign on it.

The shooter was identified as Anders Breivik.  He has confessed to both the bombing in Oslo and the shootings on Utøya Island.  Update:  The death count in the bombing and in the shootings has been determined to be 8 and 68, respectively.

July 20, 2011

I saw a really cool rainbow this afternoon.  It wasn’t even visible for very long.  Fortunately, my camera was nearby.  It actually was a full, complete rainbow, although I was unable to get far enough away from it to capture all of it at once.

     
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I feel that the rainbow is symbolic of Jesus.  He is the only one who can bring light to a very dark world.  More than ever, we need Him now.

For regions of the world right now that have had major droughts, especially in areas ravaged by terrible famine and starvation, pray that God will bring rain, crops, and food to the people in those areas.  Hopefully, it will not be long before they will see Jesus in the sky, in the form of a rainbow.

This is only two days after Mahmoud Abbas announced (on July 16) that he, personally, would introduce a motion to the United Nations for Palestinian statehood in September.

It’s looking more and more like something significant may happen in September, regarding Israel and the Palestinians.

Admittedly, I am skeptical.  However, there are many who are saying that the next times of an alignment will be around, Sep. 26 or 27 (just before Rosh HaShanah, which begins at sunset on Sep. 28), Nov. 4 or 5, and Nov. 22 or 23 of this year.  See Key Dates of Elenin Alignments and Proximities to Earth, which is information sent to me that I cannot personally verify to be true.  If no big disasters happen on the earth at these times, then all I can say is “ho hum.”

On the other hand, if something significant happens on or around those dates (such as big quakes and/or tsunamis, which I doubt), then I will sit up and take notice.  In any case, even if the threat is real, there is nothing anybody can do about it anyway except to be in good standing with and obedient to God and to pray that His safety and protection be extended to them, their friends, and their families! 

July 8, 2011

NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis began its final mission today, at 11:29 a.m. EDT, with a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.  It is the 135th and final flight in NASA’s shuttle program.  Once Atlantis shuttle returns from space, the shuttle era will be over.

     
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Atlantis’ construction began on March 3, 1980.  With the help of lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia, and Challenger, the construction of Atlantis cost about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia.

On April 9, 1985, Atlantis went into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Weighing in at 151,315 pounds, Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia.

A massive dust storm rolled through Phoenix, AZ, late this afternoon.  Flights were grounded at Sky Harbor International Airport, and thousands were left without electricity.

According to the National Weather Service, the dust storm was estimated to reach a peak height of at least 5,000 to 6,000 feet (about a mile), with an aerial coverage on the leading edge stretching more than 100 miles.  Wind gusts approached 70 mph.

For those in the midst of the dust storm, day essentially turned into night until the giant haboob had passed.  Watch a video and view some photos.  Wow!

Big dust storms are common this time of year in the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest U.S., when high winds begin to whip up at the beginning of the monsoon season.  Due to a lack of significant precipitation this past winter, this particular dust storm was much larger than most.

July 4, 2011

Happy Independence Day, America.  Today is the 235th birthday of the USA.  I am proud to be an American because I believe the USA has done more to further liberty and human rights in the world than any other nation in history.  How much longer we will continue to be a beacon of freedom is uncertain.

         
         
         
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Several of us got together in the mountains and have had a couple of nice meals so far.  I also have gone on a stroll through the forest with a dog who belongs to some friends.  She likes to get in the water any chance she gets, and sometimes she shakes it off on me. 

I do not exclusively refer to the NIV.  I often use BibleGateway.com to look at words, verses, or passages in other versions of the Bible, including the KJV.  It is extremely doubtful that anyone will be able to convince me to prefer the KJV over the NIV.

Ten ships expected to participate in the flotilla include the Freedom from Ireland, The Audacity of Hope from the United States, the Tahrir from Canada, the Swedish and Greek Juliano, two Swedish-Greek cargo ships carrying 3,000 tons of supplies, the Italian ship Stefano Chiarini and the French ships Julien Rivoire and Dignity.  The Israel Navy is continuing with its preparations to stop the planned flotilla of 10 ships.